JVC LT-46DZ7BJ review

JVC joins the elite Full HD club - sort of

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Our Verdict

A good statement of intent from JVC - with just a few minor niggles letting it down

For

Good connectivity

Impressive pictures

Pleasing sound quality

Against

Not actually 1080p

Dark areas a slight weakness

This is JVC's first Full HD LCD TV and aims to catch the attention of those who demand the top spec. The screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 only tells part of the story, however - this TV actually can't accept a 1080p signal. It can only accept a 1080i feed and then upscale internally to 1080p.

Chances are that if you're in the market for a 1080 screen, you'll be getting a high definition disc player as well - either Blu-ray or HD DVD - both of which can deliver pure 1080p signals, so this is a bit of a strange decision on JVC's part.

Incredible bulk

The 46in screen is nevertheless imposing, and the bulk of the TV is minimised by having the stereo speakers tucked away beneath a ledge on the underside of the set.

Connectivity is excellent, including two HDMI inputs, component video connections and a pair of RGB Scarts. The HDMI connections will be of most interest to high definition enthusiasts. There's also a CAM slot for adding extra channels on the onboard digital tuner (there's an analogue tuner as well).

Picture processing comes under the DynaPix umbrella and includes JVC's Digital Image Scaling Technology, designed to scale images to the screen's resolution with the best possible results. This is the technology that converts from 1080i to 1080p and there are also various noise-reduction processes to keep the picture clean.

In action the LT-46DZ7BJ reveals itself to be a highly capable performer - but not all of the time. Showing HD material, the TV produces a highly involving, beautifully detailed picture on bright scenes: our test HD DVD of Serenity features many such scenes and they just leap off the screen.

The frequent scenes shot in space, however, reveal a slight Achilles heel in the handling of very dark areas. There is also a touch more artefacting on digital broadcasts than we would like to see.

This often seems to be a case of MPEG noise in the original broadcast being slightly emphasised by the JVC's processing.

Tales of the unexpected

The speakers may not be seen, but they are definitely heard. We love the confident delivery of sound effects and the unexpected power on hand (thanks to the provision of the MaxxBass audio system).

This is therefore a TV with excellent sound and, often, excellent pictures. There are just those few minor niggles that prevent us from giving it our unreserved recommendation, however, but it remains a big-screen experience with plenty of attractions.